Vietnam - UAE: The brain-teasing game of 2 teachers

The 4th match of the 2nd qualifying round of the 2020 World Cup in Group G between Malaysia vs. Thailand and Vietnam vs. UAE will be updated continuously. Its results will change the situation of Group G quite significantly, so the 4 teams have prepared quite carefully.

Heavenly time, favorable location, and harmony between people

The most worrying thing for UAE has finally come, the weather for the match at My Dinh Stadium is favoring the home team Vietnam more than the Gulf team. Affected by cold air, Hanoi has moderate to heavy rain; the temperature drops, the weather is cold, the temperature is expected to drop below 17 degrees, making it difficult for West Asian players to get used to it with only 48 hours to get used to it. It can be considered "heavenly timing".

Omar Abdul Rahman (10) is the soul of the UAE team's play. The unusual weather in Hanoi could be a challenge for the away team tomorrow. Photo: Hai Hoang

It is no coincidence that Mr. Hassan Suhail, head of the UAE delegation, complained:“The quality of the pitch in Hanoi is poor and the UAE team may not be provided with the required conditions." Instead of having 3 sessions to familiarize themselves with the pitch as required by FIFA, the UAE team only "walked around the pitch" once, to avoid injuries.

At My Dinh Stadium, in the “post-football” period, the Vietnamese team had a streak of 13 matches without losing (10 wins, 3 draws), which made fans more confident in victory. That was the “home advantage”.

Before the match, UAE experts were doubting the coaching ability of Mr. B. van Marwijk, but VFF put all their trust in Mr. Park Hang-seo and his assistants. This was concretized by renewing the 3-year contract for Mr. Park and his right-hand man Lee Young-jin. The good news when U19 Vietnam won a ticket to the Asian Cup finals in Uzbekistan next year after drawing with U19 Japan or VFF just found another sponsor for the team is considered good news. "Human harmony" is like that!

Brainstorming

Mr. Park knows UAE well beyond the loss of the strikerAli Mabkhout, the team's best striker in history, is suspended, while central midfielder Ahmed Barman and right winger Khalil Ibrahim are absent due to injury. This allows Van Hau and Quang Hai to join the attack more.

But it should be noted that FIFA has confirmed that the yellow card for Quang Hai will be removed and returned to the "owner" Van Hau, so this player needs to be "kept" if he does not want to sit out the match against Thailand. UAE players will also grasp this weakness (?!!).

The VFF's contract renewal has encouraged the spirit of coach Park Hang-seo and his team. Photo: VFF.

In the three matches against Southeast Asian teams, Mr. Park chose a "soft and hard" playing style, using central midfielder Tuan Anh, the player with the best individual technique in Vietnam, to compete with players from Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Returning from injury, “Nho” has perfected his blocking technique, his blocking stats surpass Hung Dung and Que Ngoc Hai. It helps the team’s defense become more solid, with his specialty of long passes with high accuracy, making the opponent not dare to attack.

But in the 3 qualifying matches, in the 4-2-3-1 formation, UAE used the midfielder pair Ahmed Barman (13) and Ali Salmeen (5) with large bodies, continuously colliding in the air to wear down the physical strength of the players from Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. In fact, only when the UAE strikers failed to take advantage of the opportunity did UAE lose to Thailand 1-2. The defenders of Malaysia and Indonesia could not withstand this "physical torture".

Up to now, 5 out of 8 goals of UAE have been scored in the last 30 minutes when the opponent "ran out of battery". At My Dinh Stadium, due to Ahmed Barman (13) being injured, UAE's defensive midfielder pair, Ali Salmeen (5) and Tariq Hassan (21), will still use this "familiar trick".

When Hung Dung just got a slight injury, will Mr. Park continue to use Tuan Anh or arrange 2 midfielders who can withstand impact, switching to "strong vs strong"? At that time, Huy Hung and Duc Huy will be the players in charge of the central midfielder role, facing the tall West Asian players.

To advance, we need at least 10 points in the remaining 5 matches of the group stage. With coach B. van Marwijk "backed into a corner", how Mr. Park can get points is all the art of arrangement by the coach who is trusted by fans.